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Hi everyone , Im getting a new hamster very soon and wondered if anyone has any tips that Iíve not yet seen . Iíve done a few months of research so know a lot already but Iím always looking to learn more to give the new hamster (planning on getting a dwarf ) the best life possible

Congratulations on your future ham!
When you bring your hamster home you should let them settle in for 3-5 days. Think of it from your point of view. They were just in a different place, maybe with other hamsters or siblings, with familiar sounds and smells but then they got transported into a new area with diffent looks, sounds, and smells. While they are settling in, you can talk to him/her to get them used to your voice and you being around them.
You can also get your ham used to you with the tissue trick. The tissue trick is were you get some plain, unsecented tissue and put it up your sleeve for a few hours or rub your hands on it. Then, you can put it in your hams cage. This will get them used to your scent.
Do you know what species of hamster you are getting? Male or female? Im edited to see your hamster!

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Proud mother of Libby, The King of WhimzeesThank you so much for all the memories we shared together, Comet.

I've had my dwarf hamster two weeks now and I'd just say patience and persistence is key. I do at least two 10 minute taming sessions per day of just putting my hand in and quietly talking. I mostly feed by hand too. My little one will now happily sit in my hand even if there is no food in there. Granted, she's got there much quicker than I expected but I think try and let the hamster lead the taming. I can tell when mine has had enough and it's time to stop and try again later. Little and often! Have you had a dwarf before? They're rather skittish compared to Syrians in my experience but totally worth it in the long run!

Most has already been said For a dwarf hammy you need a decent sized cage - 70cm by 40cm is popular although bigger is ok too - which you probably already know. The Duna Multy or Hamster Heaven without the tubes are good.

As Sasha said you want to leave them alone for 2 or 3 days to let them settle into the cage. After that you can start talking to them through the cage to get them used to your voice and offering the odd treat (although they often don't like a hand in the cage and can get territorial about that) - how soon you can start taming and handling partly depends on the personality of the hamster.

But for the first two weeks don't change anything around or clean anything - they need that two weeks to fully settle, scent mark and get some habits/find their way around. If you think the pee needs spot cleaning after a week or so then you could take a handful of pee'd on substrate out and replace it with a new handful - but mix it in with the old so it still smells familiar. With dwarf hammies though, it may not be clear where they are peeing and if it's underground it probably won't smell a lot initially so you should be ok to leave things for a couple of weeks.

So best tip is - get the cage set up to begin with and take some time over that so you're less likely to need to make changes. So the basics are - a good house for nesting in, a shelf in the cage they can sit under to feel safe, or climb up to for somewhere to go (also a good place for heavier items and food bowl etc). A wheel or flying saucer, plenty of substrate (at least 4") plenty of nesting material (a big pile of torn up strips of plain white toilet paper somewhere in the cage but not in the house - they like to forage for it and take it to build the nest where they choose.

A few hidey places like floor tunnels - a tissue box or cardboard egg box with a hole cut in make nice hidey places too and you can put treats in the dips on top of the egg box. A chew stick. Change water daily and food daily or every other day. You can also scatter feed a bit of food occasionally as well as put it in the bowl.

Some kind of rough stone on the shelf under the food bowl or water bottle can help keep their nails from growing too long - a terracotta plant pot base is ok - but you can always add that later when your hammy has settled in.

Also think about access - can they actually get up to a shelf or reach the water bottle and get to the food bowl - that kind of thing.

Thank you everyone for taking your time to give me tips it has definitely helped me and I will be sure to use them . I am getting my hamster in 2 days and am planning on a male winter white although it will probably be a hybrid as most in pet shops are . I though about getting a pair but decided not to as i think it will do good on its own

Russian Dwarfs are my favourites! As Serendipity has said, you’ll need a minimum cage size of 70 x 40cm; the Duna Multy, Hamster Heaven, Criceti 15, Grosvenor, Ruffy 2, and P@H Extra Large wire cage are all good options and Wilko currently have 100x40cm Christmas tree storage bins for £10. Russian dwarfs love love love to burrow and need at least 10cm of substrate or as much as the cage base will allow.

Dwarf hamsters also love sand so make sure to give your hammie a sand bath at all times. The best substrates for burrowing are woodshavings (pine is totally safe in the UK), Fitch, or Carefresh. You can put thin layer of hay inbetween layers of substrate as well to add more stimulation and help strengthen their burrow. sYou’ll also need a lot of wooden chews (unpainted, natural looking ones are best), hides (mine love coconut houses), and bendy bridges. Ferplast tubes are also popular with my hamsters.